The present-day U.S. military qualifies by any measure as highly professional, much more so than its Cold War predecessor. Yet the purpose of today’s professionals is not to preserve peace but to fight unending wars in distant places. Intoxicated by a post-Cold War belief in its own omnipotence, the United States allowed itself to be drawn into a long series of armed conflicts, almost all of them yielding unintended consequences and imposing greater than anticipated costs. Since the end of the Cold War, U.S. forces have destroyed many targets and killed many people. Only rarely, however, have they succeeded in accomplishing their assigned political purposes. . . . [F]rom our present vantage point, it becomes apparent that the “Revolution of ‘89” did not initiate a new era of history. At most, the events of that year fostered various unhelpful illusions that impeded our capacity to recognize and respond to the forces of change that actually matter.

Andrew Bacevich


Wednesday, December 9, 2009

War News for Wednesday, December 09, 2009

There were no ISAF fatalities in the last 24 hours in Afghanistan


Dec. 7 airpower summary: Dec. 6 airpower summary: Dec. 5 airpower summary: Dec. 4 airpower summary: Dec. 3 airpower summary: Dec. 2 airpower summary: Dec. 1 airpower summary:

Iraq says deaths from Tuesday's bombings lower: ...a statement from the Health Ministry stating that 77 people were killed," Moussawi told Reuters. He said 513 people were wounded.

U.S. Casualties in Afghanistan Dropped Almost 70 Percent from October to November, But Why? (Article only considers fatalities, no comparison on wounded)

US Air Force confirms 'Beast of Kandahar' drone

Gates surprised by Karzai remarks on Afghan forces:


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: Two people were killed and five wounded after a bomb went off in Baghdad’s northern district of Adhamiya on Wednesday, witnesses and police said. Police sources said that the bomb was placed behind the Al-Sabah Library while witnesses said the bomb had been placed next to a dead body.

Two street cleaners were killed today by a bomb hidden in a rubbish heap in northern Baghdad.
Officials say the blast occurred at 8am local time as street sweepers were cleaning in the Sunni neighbourhood of Azamiyah. Two people were killed and three passers-by wounded.

#2: Two civilians were killed and 11 others were wounded in an explosive charge blast in northeastern Baghdad, a police source said on Wednesday. The explosion is the second of its kind today after the series of bombing attacks that rocked the capital yesterday. “An improvised explosive device went off on the main road in al-Qahera neighborhood in northeastern Baghdad, killing two civilians and injuring 11,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Diyala Prv:
#1: “An improvised explosive device went off in al-Saadiya district, south of Khanaqin, injuring two civilians,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Irbil:
#1: One civilian was killed on Tuesday for “social reasons” in central Arbil, local police chief said. “Unknown gunmen shot and killed a 30-year-old civilian for social reasons in central Arbil,” Brigadier Abdulkhaleq Talaat told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Kirkuk:
#1: Unknown gunmen threw a thermal bomb at a Multi-National forces patrol in southwest Kirkuk, a source from the joint coordination center in Kirkuk said on Tuesday. “The armed men threw a thermal bomb at a Multi-National forces patrol at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday (Dec. 8) near al-Tahadi bridge in al-Huwaiyja district, southwest of Kirkuk,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, noting that the blast caused no damage.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: A police officer was wounded on Tuesday in a hand grenade explosion in eastern Falluja, a police source said. “Unknown gunmen threw a hand grenade on a police officer near his house in al-Sajar village in northern Falluja, injuring him,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: Police forces managed on Wednesday to defuse a bomb in central Falluja without damage, a police source said.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: An Australian soldier has been wounded during an operation in southern Afghanistan. The soldier was shot in the upper leg by an insurgent during an operation in Oruzgan province on December 4 2009. He received immediate first aid and was aero-medically evacuated to the military hospital at Tarin Kowt for follow on medical treatment. He is medically assessed as being in a stable condition. No other Australian or Afghan troops were wounded during the contact.

#2: Two civilians were killed and another two sustained injuries as a roadside bomb struck a civilian vehicle in Uruzgan province, south of Afghanistan, provincial police chief Juma Gul Humat said Wednesday. "The incident occurred in provincial capital Trinkot on Tuesday. As a result, two of the commuters were killed and two others got wounded. All the victims were civilians," Humat told Xinhua.

#3: So far 589 militants have been killed in South Waziristan tribal area since Pakistani security forces launched the operation Rah-e-Nijat, the army said Wednesday. At least 79 security forces personnel lost their lives during the military operation, the Inter Services Public Relations said in the daily press release.

#4: Militants fired one rocket at the army camp (South Waziristan ), but was effectively responded, the army said.


MoD: Lance Corporal Adam Drane

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